Shoe sole fitting machine



Jan. 4, 1938. 1 BAzzQNl 2,104,113

SHOE SOLE FITTING MACHINE Jan. 4, 1938. 1 BAZZOM 2,104,113

SHOE SOLE FITTING MACHINE Filed oct. 18, 1935 5 sheets-sheet 2 Fig.

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Jan. 4, 1938. 1 .1. BAzzoNl I SHOE SOLE FITTING MACHINE 1935 5 SheetsSheet 5 Filed OCT, 18

Jan. 4, 1938. L. J. BAzzoN:

SHOE SOLE FITTING MACHINE 5 sheets-sheet 4 Filed Oct.

L. J. BAZZONI Jan. 4, 1938.

SHOE SOLE FITTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 18, 1935 l 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Jan. 4, 1938 UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE snor: soLE FITTING MACHINE Appucatioaoc'toiier 1s, i935, serial No. 45,638

16 claims.

This invention relates to shoe sole fitting machines and is herein shown and described asv embodied in amachine arranged to receive and feed a died out or rounded sole blank automatically 'past a cutter whichin a single operationgperformed progressively around the sole reducesor bevels the marginal portion of the sole and produces a suitably roughened surface yfor the reception of sole attaching cement.

It is an object of the invention to provide such a machine as that indicated above in which the entire cutting and roughing operation is performed by a single tool so constructed and arranged that one degree of reduction or bevel may be produced around the forepart of the sole and a different degree along the shank portion thereof, the changes being made automatically without the necessity of any attention or .manipulation `upon the part of the operator.

A further object is to provide an improved and simplified form of sole feeding mechanism which will feed the marginal portion of the sole accurately and uniformly past the operating position of the tool regardless of the size or shape of the sole.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of tool which will accurately and cleanlybevel the sole margin and in the same operation produce a roughened surface for the reception of sole attaching cement.

With the above and other objects in view, a feature of the invention consists in the combina# tion with a work support, such as a table having a sole engaging surface, and a sole roughing cutter supported in a mounting which is'angularly lvariable or tiltable with respect to the work support to permit the angular relation between the cutter and the work supporting surface to be changed. In the illustrated machine the tool con- 40 sists of a rotary coarse-toothed saw-like cutter mounted in a tilting carrier having manual means for varying the degree of tilt of the carrier relatively to the work supporting table, to determine at will the degree of bevel to be formed upon the I margin around the forepart of the soler and automatic means for changing the. tilt of the cutter when the shank portion of the sole is reached in order to provide a greater'degree of bevel along theshank than around the forepart.

The 'automatic change in the tilt of the cutter is preferably controlled by a characteristic of the sole itself and in the machine shown herein the control is electrical in that an appropriately located protuberance upon the sole actuates a feeler which automatically closes an electric circuit containing an electro-#magnet which operates mechanism for changing the tilt of the cutter.

For determining the path of feed of the sole edge there may be provided an edge gage arranged abovethe work supporting table to cooperate with a tilted feeding disk engaging the sole margin near the edge gage, said disk having upon one of its faces a spiral sole feeding lip and being rotated in' a direction to cause the edge of the sole to be held against the edge gage While it is being fed progressively past said gage.

These and other features of the invention, as well as benefits to be derived from the use thereof, will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of the one embodiment thereof. to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a left-hand end elevation of the mai chine;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a plan view, mostly in horizontal section, of the cutter-tilting mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section of the sole feeding device;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate the cutter mounting and tilting mechanism with the axis of the cutter at different angles;

Fig. 8 shows the cutter mounting in vertical section;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the sole feeding disk;

Fig. 10 is an elevation of a detail of the cutter tilting adjustment;

Figs. 11, 12y and 13 show details of the electro- `magnetic control for the cutter-tilting mechanism;

Fig. 14 is a diagram of the electric circuits;

Fig. 15 is an angular view of the forepart portion of a sole ready to be operated upon by the machine; l v

Fig. 16 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating successive stages in the operation upon a sole, and

Fig. 17 is an angular view of a finished sole produced by the machine. v

Referring now to the drawings, 20 indicates a frame or housing in which is mounted a base plate 22 to which is bolted an electric motor 24 to furnish power for operating the machine.

Secured to the shaft of the motor is a pinion 26 which transmits power through an idle gear 28 to a .gear 30 mounted upon a countershaft 32 which extends through a frame 20 and has secured to its other end a grooved pulley 34. The pulley 34 is connected by a belt 36 running over a pair of idle pulleys 38 to a grooved pulley 40 secured by a.

set screw 42 to a short shaft 44 (see Fig. 8) which has at its lower end a ball thrust bearing 46 adjustable axially of the shaft by a screw 48 locked in adjusted position by a lock nut 50.

The shaft 44 rotates in upper and lower ball bearings 52, 54 and has mounted at its upper end a coarse-toothed saw-like cutter 56 secured to the shaft by a, screw 58. The ball bearings 52, 54 are mounted in holders 60, 62 formed in the forked end of a tilting carrier 64 which is hung upon pivots 66, 68 arranged to swing in the ends of a short stationary shaft 10 secured in the underside of a horizontal work supporting and guiding table 12 supported by upright posts 14. The axis of the cutter shaft 44 is disposed at right angles tothe axis of the shaft 10 and the latter is angularly related to the upper work supporting surface of the table 12, with the result that the cutter 56 and its shaft are tilted longitudinally of the table. By reason of the pivotal mounting 66, 68 of the cutter carrier 64 the carrier together with the cutter and cutter shaft sustained thereby can be variably tilted transversely of the table 12. It will thus be seen that the cutter axis is tilted relatively to the table in two directions at right angles to each other. The purpose of the longitudinal tilting is to provide clearance between the sole and all of the cutter except that small portion of itsperiphery which is operating upon the work at any given instant and the purpose of the transverse tilting is to produce a beveled cut upon the sole margin, the degree of bevel being determined by the amount of tran's- `ed to rotate in a bearing formed upon the outside of the ball bearing holder 62. Secured to the opposite end of the rod 18 is a disk 82 (see Figs. 2 and 10) provided with a series of holes 84 so arranged that any one of them can engage with a. stationary pin 86. A pinion 88 is also secured to the rod 18 and is mounted to turn in a bearing 90 formed in the carrier 64. A rack 92 (Fig. 5) is mounted to slide in a guideway 84 so arranged that the rack is held continuously in mesh with the pinion 88. Screwed into the rack 92 is a pin 96 which is connected by a link 88 surrounded by a spring |00 to a pin |02 adjustably threaded into the upper end of a lever |04 which is mounted to swing about a stationary vpivot |06 in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter.

The rod 18 is surrounded by a spring |08 which tends to engage the disk 82 with the pin 86 but by pulling the rod to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, it may be turned to rotate the pinion 88 along the rack 82. Assuming the lever |04 to be staf l tric |22 is to change the tilt of the cutter 56 -about tionary when this adjustment is changed the rack 92 will also be stationary and the rotation of the pinion 88 will cause the transverse tilt of the cutter about the axis of the shaft 10 tobe varied. A graduated scale ||0 secured to the holder 62 cooperates with a stationary pointer ||2 to indicate the amount of transverse tilt of the cutter, the scale being shown as graduated in irons to indicate the amount of reduction to' be produced in the thickness of the sole edge.v

The stationary pivot |06 for the lever |04 is mounted in the'wall of a housing I4 which Ycontains the tilt controlling apparatus and which is which is affixed a driving gear |16.

best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The center of the lever |04 is pivoted at 6 to one end of a. connecting rod ||8 (Figs. 3 and 5) the opposite end of which is formed as a circular eccentric eccentric being forced to rotate with the shaft but being slidably adjustable radially of the shaft, for the purpose of varying the throw of the eccentric, from the position shown in Fig. 5 where the eccentric is concentric with the shaft to the position of maximum eccentricity shown in Fig. 6. For the purpose of securing this adjustment there is mounted in the eccentric a pin |32 carrying a roll |34 which engages in a spiral slot |36 formed in a face of a disk |38 journaled to rotate upon the shaft |24. The disk |38 carries a spring pressed detent |40 which is engageable in any one of a series of depressions |42 in the adjacent face of a disk |44 formed upon the end of the shaft. It will be apparent from the foregoing that rotation of the disk |38 will adjust the eccentric |22 transversely of the shaft |24 and a stationary pointer |46 cooperating with numbers |48 corresponding to the depressions |42 will indicate the amount of such adjustment. The graduation's or numbers |48 may be so selected as to designate the numbers of irons difference in the thickness of the sole edge which will be produced by the tilting of the cutter 56 effected by the throw of the eccentric |22.

The shaft |24 is rotated by the driven member |50 of a clutch of peculiar construction comprisin'g a driving member |52 pinned to a shaft |54 and an intermediate member |56 which is rotatable upon the shaft |54 but is in frictional engagement with the driving memberv |52. The driven member |50 is pinned upon a rod |58 which is slidable axially. through the hollow shaft |24 and its hub portion |60 is formed for interlocking driving engagement with a hub projecting from the face of the disk |44, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.- This construction permits the rod |58 and the drivenclutch member |50 to move axially of the shaft |54 but maintains rotary driving engagement between the clutch member |50 and the hollow shaft |24.

'I'he shaft |54 is journaled in bearings |64 in a gear box |66 which is supported by the machine frame 20 and the shaft has pinned to it agear 168 whichmeshes witha pinion |10 keyed to a sleeve |12 which is in turn pinned to a shaft |14 to meshes withv an idle gear |18 which is driven by the pinion `30 upon the counter shaft 32', the shafts |14 and |54 rotating continuously Whenever themotor 24 is running.

' As already intimated, the function of the eccenthe axis 10 and the apparatus in the housing ||4 -fpr co rolling this operation will be described in scribed next.

.Y ySecured to the continuously running sleeve |12 lori I'svhaft |14 is a gear |80 which meshes with a pini n |82 afiixed to an inclined shaft |84,

. toithequpper end of which is pinned a feed disk |84hav'i'ng a spiral work feeding lip |88 upon its The gear |16` the top of the bracket.

f to feed it along as the disk is rotated. The shaft |84 is slidable through bearings |90, |92 and its lower end is rounded, as shown at |94, and stepped in a thrust bearing |96 supported by a spring |98 which tends to force the shaft |84 and the feeddisk |86 upward into engagement with the sole but is capable of yielding to accommodate irregularities in the thickness of the sole material.

Above the feed disk |86 is a presser foot 200 carried by a slide 202 which is vertically adjustable for soles of different thicknesses, being held in adjusted position by a bolt 204 passing through a slot 206 in a stationary supporting bracket 208. The adjustment is indicated by graduations 2|0 upon an adjustable polygonal stop member 2 |2 at The presser foot 200 is normally stationary and serves to hold the sole down against the upward thrust of the feed disk |86 and the cutter 56.

'I'he shaft |84 is inclined both transversely and longitudinally of the work table 12 to such an extent that only a segment of -the lipped portion of the feed disk |86 projects above the sole supporting surface of the table, where it can engage the sole, and the same is true as to the operative segment of the cutter 56.

The direction of rotation of the shaft |84 is indicated by an arrow in Fig. 1 and the corresponding direction of rotation of the feed disk |86, which is secured to the said shaft, is indicated by arrows in Figs. 9 and 16. By referring to Figs. 2 and 16 it may be seen that, since only the upper right hand portion of the feed disk is exposed above the table 12 to engage the sole, the progression of the teeth formed by the sharp edge of the turning spiral lip |88 will cause the sole to be fed toward the right, toward the cutter 56, in

a direction which is approximately radial with respect to the feed disk, the tendency of the sole to whirl tangentially of the disk being overcome by engagement of the sole edge with a stationary edge gage or abutment 308. The operation of the cutter removes from the sole any marks which lhave been made upon it by the lip |88.

Referring now to Figs. 15 and 17,v the sole blank 2|4 is provided, at the vpoints on its margin where the change in edge thickness is to occur, with humps or protuberances 2|6, 2|8 which may conveniently be formed by forcing a pointed instrument into the edge of the sole. Figs. 2 and 14, a feeler 220 which is mounted to move about a pivot 222 is arranged to engage the margin of the sole in the path of movement of the protuberance 2|8 so that when the latter strikes the feeler the feeler will be swung upward about the pivot 222 and a contact arm 224 which extends upward from the feeler will be actuated to close a pair of contact points 226, 228. The contact point 226 is connected to a Wire 230 which is one of two wires constituting a source of supply of electric current; the other wire of the pair is shown at 232 in Fig, 14.

The contact point 228 is connected by a wire 234 to one end of an electro-magnetic solenoid 236 the other end of which is connected to the line wire 232. When the feeler 220 is lifted by the passage of the 'protuberance 2|8 under it the circuit containing the solenoid is closed momentarily at 226, 228 energizing the solenoid and causing it to draw in a sliding core 238 which operates the mechanism now to be described for changing the tilt of the cutter.

The solenoid core 238 is connected by link 240 Referring now to (Fig. 3) to a lever 242 mounted to swing about a stationary pivot 244 and having rigid with itself an arm 246. A screw 248 threaded adjustably through the lever 242 bears against the end` ofthe clutch shifting rod |58 which is held in engagement with the tip of the screw by a compression spring 260I surrounding the rod and retained thereon by a nut 262.

A disk 264 is keyed upon the hollow shaft |24 and outside of this disk is a ring 266 which is capable of rotation through a limited angle relatively to the disk 264, a compression spring 268 being interposed to keep the parts normally in the relation shownkin Fig. 13. The ring 266 has in its periphery two identical notches 210 which are diametrically opposite to each other and a spring pressed locking dog 212 is mounted in the housing I I4 in position to engage in either of these notches. It will be apparent that when the locking dog is engagedv in either of the notches 210 the shaft |24 will be locked against rotation, .and the two notches are so arranged that when this occurs the eccentric |22 will be at one or the other of the limits of its horizontal throw.

' A pin 214 projects upward from the locking dogl 212 in the path of a spring projected pawl 216 which is pivoted at 218 in the outer end of the lever arm 246. When the solenoid 236 is energized and draws in the core 238 the lever 242, 246 is swung counterclockwise, as seen in Fig. 3, causing the locking dog 212 to be retracted from one of the notches 210 and unlocking the ring 266 so ymade half a revolution the dog enters the second notch 210 stopping the rotation, the shock of the stop being cushioned by the spring 268 and, if necessary, slippage occurring between the driving member |52 and the intermediate member |56 of the clutch.

In order to maintain the circuit through the solenoid 286, which is closed only momentarily at the contacts 226, 228, there is provided a holding circuit which'is controlled by the ring 266. This holding circuit comprises a conductor 280 (Fig. 14), contacts 282, 284 and a conductor 286 connected to the supply wire 230. This holding circuit is normally open at the contacts 282, 284 but is closed as soon as the shaft |24'starts to rotate and is kept closed through a half revolution of the shaft. For this purpose a bell crank lever movable about a pivot 286 has a depending arm 288 provided with a tappet 290 arranged to engage the periphery of the ring 266 when the ring is rotating but to lie in one of the notches 210 when the ring is stationary. The other arm 292 of the bell crank lever is angularly adjustable by means of a screw 294 and carries an abutment 296 arranged to press the contact 284 against the contact 282. The mechanical arrangement is shown in Fig. 13 while Fig, 14 is merely a schematic circuit diagram.

When the shaft makes a half revolution and is stopped by the locking dog 212 the tappet 290 falls into the notch 210 which is not occupied by the locking dog, opening the holding circuit at the contacts` 282, 284 and permitting the spring 260 to -disengage the driving clutch and retract the solenoid core 238 to its initial position. Each fil ' tive to the cutter 5B by'an edge gage 308 as shownd half revolution of the shaft |24 tilts the cutter carrier one Way or the other, either increasing or decreasing the ,angle` of bevel of the out upon the sole margin as the case may be.

The contact points 282, 294 are carried, respectively, by a pair of spring fingers 298 and3|i0 which are clamped between strips of insulating material 3D2 neld together by a screw 304 threaded into a lug 30G projecting inward from the wall of the housing ||4.

The sole blank is guided in its movement reladiagrammatically in Fig. 16 Where it may be observed that the direction of rotation of the feed disk |85 is such as to force the edge of the sole continuously against the edge gage as the sole is fed past the cutter and in practice the component forces exerted upon the sole to hold it against the edge gage and to feed it along are so related that the feeding and guiding of the sole are practically automatic, it being unnecessary for the operator to guide the sole by hand in its passage through the machine.

Reference to Fig, 5 shows how the cutter 56 will prod-nce no bevel upon the sole when both cutter-tilting adjustments are set at zero; Fig. 'I il` lustrates the production of a slight bevel suitable for the forepart of the sole such as would be produced by turning the adjusting knob 16 and thereby tilting the cutter slightly; and Fig. 6 shows the steep bevel suitable for the shank portion of the sole produced by operation of the cutter-tilting eccentric |22 when adjusted for maximum throw.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for roughing the margins of unattached shoe soles, comprising, in combination, a work support having a sole engaging surface, a sole roughing cutter constructed and arranged to operate upon a face of the sole, said cutter being disposed at an acute angie to said surface of the worksupport, and a cutter mounting which is angularly variable with respect to the Work support to permit the angular relation between the cutter and said surface to be changed. i

2. A machine for roughing the margins of unattached shoe soles, comprising, in combination, a work support having a sole engaging surface, a sole roughing cutter which is tiltable with respect to said surface, and means controlled by a characteristic of a sole upon the work support for tilting the cutter relatively to said surface.

3. A machine for roughing the margins of shoe soles, comprising, in combination, a work support having a sole engaging surface, a sole roughing cutter mounted in a carrier which is tiltable with respect to said surface, a feeler arranged adjacent to the work support in a position to engageA a sole thereon, and connections between the feeler and said carrier constructed and arranged to tilt the carrier when the feeler is engaged by a predetermined portion of the sole which differs from the remainder thereof.

4. In a machine for roughing themargin of a shoe sole, the combination of a sole guiding ele' ment, a sole roughing cutter mounted to tilt relatively to the sole guiding element, a feeler arranged to be engaged continuously by the sole, and electrical means controlled by the feeler for tilting the cutter.

5. In a machine for reducing and roughing the margin of a shoe sole, the combination of a concavo-convex circular saw-like cutting and roughing tool, means for rotating said tool, and a sole guiding element disposed at the concave side of the tool and arranged to guide the marginal portion of a sole past the concave face of the tool in a plane at a small angle to the path of movement of the cutting teeth of the tool.

l 6. In a machine for reducing and roughing the margin of a shoe sole, the combination of a concavo-convex circular saw-like cutting and roughing tool, means for rotating said tool, and means for feeding the marginal portion of the sole past the concave side of the tool in the path of movement of the cutting teeth thereof.

7. In a machine for roughing the margin of a shoe'sole, the combination of a work supporting table, mechanism for feeding a sole along said table, and a toothed tool mounted to rotate upon an axis which is tilted relatively to the table both in the direction of work feed and transversely thereto.

8. In a machine for roughing the margin of a shoe sole, the combination of a work supporting table, mechanism for feeding a sole along said table, and a toothed tool mounted to rotate upon an axis which is tilted relatively to the table to a fixed extent in the direction of work feed and to a variable extent in a direction transverse thereto. l

9. A machine for operating upon the margins of shoe soles, comprising, in combination, a sole support, a sole roughing and reducing cutter,

means for moving a sole upon said support in a path such as to present the cutter to the sole progressively along one side of the shank, around the forepart and along the other side of the shank, and means for changing the angle of presentation during the progressive operation.

10. A machine for operating upon the margins of shoe soles, comprising a sole support, a tiltable cutter, means for feeding a sole over the support past the cutter, manual means for varying the tilt of the cutter as desired, and automatic means for changing the tilt of the cutter during the operation of the machine upon a sole.

11. A machine for operating upon the margins of shoe soles, comprising a sole support, a tiltable cutter, manual means for varying the tilt of the cutter as desired, automatic means for changing the tilt of the cutter by a definite amount during the operation of the machine rupon a sole, and manual means for varying the amount of change of tilt produced by said automatic means.

l2. In a machine for operating progressively around the marginal portion of a shoe sole, a work support and guiding table and a sole feeding member comprising a disk having a sharp, spiral work engaging and feeding lip upon its face.

13. In a machine for operating progressively around the marginal portion of a shoe sole. a work supporting and guiding table and a sole feeding member comprising a disk inclined relatively to the table and having upon its face a sharp, spiral work engaging and feeding lip. I

14. In a machine for operating progressively around the marginal portion of a shoe sole, a work supporting and guiding table, an edge gage for determining the path in which a sole is to be fed, a sole feeding disk having a sharp, spiral work feeding'lip which lies in a plane inclined to the table, and means for rotating the disk in a direction to hold the edge of the sole against the edge gage and to move the sole edge progressively past said gage.

' 15. In a machine for operating progressively v vanciana around the marginal portion of a shoe sole, a

work supporting and guiding table, an edge gage above the table for determining the path in which a sole upon the table is to be fed, an inclined sole feeding disk a portion of which projects above the table adjacent to and beneaththe edge sage, a spiral work feedinglip upon the disk, and means for rotating the disk in a direction to hold the edge of the sole against the edge vgage and to move the sole progressively past 4 said gage.

16. A machine for-operating upon soles 'com-y prising cutting means arranged to reduce the mechanism arranged to alter the setting oi said cutting means to regulate the angle of cut upon the work, and means arranged to be actuated by the work to control the regulatory operation of 10 said start-and-stop mechanism.

LEWIS J. BAzzoNI. 

